


We Found Love In An Unlikely Place

by ready_to_kick_some_ass



Series: FitzSimmons AUs [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aphasia, Brain Damage, Coma, F/M, First Meetings, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 21:09:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15916305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ready_to_kick_some_ass/pseuds/ready_to_kick_some_ass
Summary: Jemma works in a hospital. One day she looks after a comatose patient in intensive care. Somehow, she can't forget him afterwards ...Or: Fitzsimmons meet in hospital.





	We Found Love In An Unlikely Place

Jemma Simmons knows that life can be as beautiful as it's sometimes cruel. Working as a doctor in hospital she has experienced both miracles and tragedies. A single day can be a happy end for someone, while for others it means the end of a story. She has seen people laughing and hugging each other – and she has seen people breaking down, crying on the floor beside a hospital bed.

Life or death. They balance between both extremes. No day is the same.

Jemma loves her work. She’s good in it. She knows that, because her boss and her colleagues tell her so. And she sees it in the grateful eyes of her patients.  
This, caring for the hurt and the sick ones, trying to make them feel better and help them to get on their feet again, is what she wants to do.

Jemma really loves her work.

But sometimes, even for her it’s painful. There are times, when all the pain she sees, threatens to overwhelm her. She’s just human. And it’s not always easy to cope. Sometimes, when she’s back in the safety of her apartment, she cries like the relatives she tried to comfort just a moment ago. She grabs a blanket, her favourite ice cream and her cat Trixie, and thinks about how terribly unfair life can be.

In the hospital Jemma found fulfillment and sadness. She never thought she would find love there.

Until she did.

 

*

 

One day in early spring, when the snow finally starts to melt, and the first flowers break through the wet earth, the hospital is literally overrun by people with all kinds of infections. It’s a busy week. So busy, that Jemma has to help out some of her colleagues. She looks after a few strange patients in intensive care.

She enters the room of a young comatose man, reading the patient chart. It says his name is Leo Fitz. He's Scottish. Her heart clenches, when she sees how old he is. He’s 25. Almost her age. She’s 26.  
  
What she reads about his background makes her sad. He almost drowned after his car fell into the river after a bad crash. He was pulled out by a courageous passenger, who coincidentally saw what happened. But he was underwater for too long. There might be brain damage. She also reads, that he received not a single visit since he’s here. She frowns. He's young and in a coma. Why would no one visit him?

She takes a look at the young man. His face is pale and his curls look unruly. He’s hooked up to a ventilator and there’s a cast on his right arm. His legs and arms are raised on pillows. That's good, because it means the nurse really took care that he won't get any bed sores.

Patients in a coma aren’t exactly popular with the nurses. They require a lot of extra help. They must be bathed, nourished and repositioned regularly. The hospital is a busy place most of the time and not everyone always feels like taking extra time for comatose patients. So it's good if someone does.

Although Jemma isn’t a nurse, she always tries to do some nice things for the patients too. She doesn't think that she's superior to nurses. Some of her more arrogant colleagues unfortunately do. Jemma avoids them.

Sighing, she puts the patient chart back and goes to work.First, she opens the windows, to let some of the mild spring air into the quite stuffy room. Then she checks vital signs, transfusions and repositions his limbs. Finally, she washes his face with a flannel.

When Jemma's finished, she throws a last look at the man's face. At his closed eyes.

Suddenly, she asks herself, what the colour of his eyes might be.

 

*

 

It’s strange.

 

Jemma sits on her couch, reading a book. After a few pages, however, she gives it up, because she can’t concentrate.

Somehow she can’t forget the young, comatose man. Leo Fitz. Her thoughts always wander back to him.  
  
He doesn’t get any visits. He must be lonely. 

Jemma’s quite lonely too. Sure, her parents call her now and then. And she has Trixie. But … sometimes, she feels like she needs something else. Someone to talk to. Someone, who smiles at her. Who makes her laugh. Who hugs her when it’s cold and whose pyjamas she can wear at night.

 _Go out_ , _Jemma,_ her colleagues tell her often. _Go out and get yourself a man. You’re so attractive and smart. You shouldn’t have problems to get a date._

And Jemma tried. Once or twice.

But it never felt right. The guys were shallow. The talks were tedious and boring.

And so it’s just her, Trixie and the regular phone calls of her family.

She's not exactly lonely, she thinks. Not like the man in the hospital.  
  
He's _really_ lonely.

Her stomach clenches.

 

*

 

The next day, she looks for Leo Fitz when her shift is over, although she doesn’t have to.

She stands in front of his bed, biting her lip. No visits …

She remembers of having read, that it’s good for coma patients, when someone’s talking or reading to them. It might help them to find their way back.

 _No one does that for him_ , she thinks, feeling sad. _No one is there for him …_

 _She_ could. At least … for a while. Why not. There’s not much waiting for her at home. Just another sad movie and more ice cream. Maybe.

After a last moment of hesitation, Jemma sits on the chair beside the bed. She clears her throat.

“Hello, Fitz. I don’t know if it would be alright to call you Leo, since we don’t really know each other. So I'll go by Fitz. It … suits you, somehow. Um. I never did this before. Talking like this to someone who’s in a coma. I’m a doctor, so I know a lot about what a coma is. I read that talking helps, sometimes. I hope it’s okay if I do that. Maybe it’s a bit selfish. Because, you know, I’m still here because there’s no one waiting for me at home. Sure, I have a cat. Her name is Trixie. But sometimes a cat’s not enough, you know? Sometimes, I would like to talk to someone else. Someone, who can talk back. Well. Um. You can’t talk back right now either. But … But maybe talking to you might help you waking up? I saw that no one is visiting you. So I hope, you’re alright with me talking to you a bit.”

She clears her throat again, looking at Fitz uncertainly. There’s no change in his still face. Of course. There won’t be any change soon, she guesses. But talking to him feels quite good. So she continues.

“My name is Jemma Simmons. I’m a doctor here at the hospital. I’m younger than most of my colleagues, because I was finished with my studies quite quickly. I don’t know. I always wanted to finish fast, because I wanted to be able to help people as soon as possible. It’s something I’m good in, you know? This job. It’s exactly what I want to do. Anyway, sometimes it’s hard …”  


*  


She talks to Fitz everyday now, after her work is finished.

“What are you doing, Jemma?” One of her colleagues, Anna, asks her, when she sees Jemma sitting at Fitz’s bed once, after her shift is over. “You should go home. You have been working all day!”

But Jemma shakes her head. “I’m just talking to him for a while, Anna. I think it might help him waking up. He has no one else, you know?”

Anna frowns. “Why him though? We have a lot of comatose patients who have no one in the world. Are you talking to every single one of them?”

Jemma looks at Fitz’s still face. She shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she whispers.

Anna sighs. “Goodnight, Jemma,” she says and leaves.

 

*

 

The days get a new rhythm. Jemma likes it.

She works until it’s evening.

When the sun slowly starts to set, she goes to Fitz and talks to him.

It feels good to do that. She feels less lonely. But she wishes, he would wake up.

She would love to see his eyes. Maybe a smile. Or ...

 _Oh my, Jemma_ , she asks herself mildly startled. _Are you attracted to him_?!

Maybe.

Yeah. Maybe …

 

*

 

After nine long days, he wakes up and Jemma finally sees the colour of his eyes.

It’s a deep shade of blue. It reminds her of an unruly ocean.

Jemma stares into those blue eyes mesmerized, while the heart monitor starts to beat faster.

Fitz makes a choked noise and Jemma quickly tries to calm him down, grabbing his trembling hand softly, which was trying to reach the mask on his face.

His eyes switch to her face and he blinks repeatedly.  

She smiles at him. “It’s going to be alright,” she tells him. Instinctively, she reaches for his unhurt hand, squeezing it lightly.

He stares up at her. After a moment, his eyes flutter shut again.

Jemma calls for the doctor in charge.

 

*

 

“There’s brain damage,” Fitz’s doctor tells her the next day.

Jemma closes her eyes for a moment. She’d expected it. It’s still painful to actually hear the prove.

“He has problems with speaking and his fine motor skills are affected.”

“How’s he dealing with that?” Jemma asks worriedly.

The doctor frowns. “Not good. He demanded to be left alone. When I asked him if he needs something, he said, a knife.”

Jemma blinks.

“Yeah … Anyway, he doesn’t want to see anyone,” he tells her, pointedly.

“Okay,” she mumbles.

Sadly, she walks back to her office.

 

*

 

Jemma misses talking to Fitz.

It always felt like she wasn’t lonely anymore.

But life goes on.

Work goes on.

She has new patients and new movies to watch alone on her couch.

The old rhythm is back again.

But now she feels like she can’t stand it anymore. Not forever.  
 

*

 

“You. You were there ... You were, um, talking to me.”

Jemma raises her head, surprised.

Fitz is standing in the door of her office, supporting himself on crutches. He looks tired.

Jemma swallows. She wipes a strand of her hair out of her face. What is he doing here, all of a sudden? “Yes,” she says carefully. "I did."

“Why?” He asks, frowning.

“I hoped it would help you to wake up,” she explains, but she senses, that it doesn’t answer his question. Not really.

He stares at her.

His gaze is intense, and Jemma looks away after a moment, feeling exposed for some reason.

“Why?” He asks again. This time, it sounds slightly desperate.

She blinks.

He sighs. “Nevermind. Thanks, I guess. At least, um, you … you _cared_.”

He turns around abruptly, limping away slowly.

Jemma stares after him, speechless.

 

*

 

Fitz is transferred to rehabilitation. He will have to work on his speech and motor skills.

And Jemma thinks, she won’t see him again.

Until he’s standing in front of her office again, this time with only one crutch.

“Hey,” he says, looking a bit uncertain.

“Hey.” Jemma smiles.

“Do you … do you have, um … um,” he blushes.

Jemma waits patiently.

He snaps his fingers a few times, frowning in deep concentration. “Time!” He finally blurts out. “Do you have time? Sorry.” He grimaces, pointing at his head with a shaking hand. “It’s all … muddled. It’s a mess, you know?”

Jemma nods. She clears her throat. “I have time. I’m finished for today," she says carefully.

“Ah. Good. Um. Fancy a, a, a … tea?” He blushes again.

Jemma suddenly starts to ask herself if he’s asking her out. The thought makes her heart flutter in a pleasant way.

“Okay,” she says, standing up.

They go to the cafeteria. She hears Fitz’s breath getting heavier and more hectic, the longer they walk. By the time, they arrive and he can sink into one of the comfy chairs, he’s bathed in sweat. He looks up at her, grinning crookedly. “It … it gets better.”

Jemma smiles. He seems way more positive since the last time she saw him. “What do you want?” She asks him, taking out her purse.

He thinks for a moment. “Do they have, um … cake. Lemon. Lemon cake?” He asks almost hopefully.

“I think so.”

“I take that. And green tea.”

“Alright. I invite you,” she winks at him.

  
They drink their tea in silence for a while. People hurry past them, a lot on crutches or in wheelchairs. Some of Jemma’s colleagues walk by, throwing Jemma interested glances.

Finally, Fitz clears his throat. “Wanted to, to say thanks again,” he tells her, fumbling with the fingers of his bad hand. “For … for being there.”

Jemma smiles at him She senses he wants to say more, so she waits patiently.

“Life … it wasn’t, um, wasn’t easy lately. I … I couldn’t go on. It felt like, like I’m stuck. My mother died. Cancer.” He looks away for a moment, his eyes filled with pain. “She was … was important for me. I was … was lost. Seeing her suffer like that, made me, um, it made me … _desperate_. Right after that, I … I failed an important test for, um, university. I felt worthless. My father always told me I’m worthless. I felt like that. Useless.” He swallows. “When I drove, um, home from university, I was … I was unfocused. It was too, too much. Then the car crash happened. I fell in the river. And everything was, was … black.”

He silences, clearly exhausted, and shudders. There are tears in his eyes and he hastily wipes his face.

Jemma reaches for his bad hand. He lets her take it. She squeezes it lightly. “I’m sorry your mother died. It must have been horrible for you. That you failed the test ... it certainly happened because you were in a bad place mentally,” she tells him. “You’re not worthless because of that. Failing is human. It doesn’t mean you will never achieve your goals. You can still be what you want. Go back to university and repeat the test. You can do it.”

He shakes his head. “I … I messed it up. Everything,” he murmurs. “Now I’m even more, more … more useless.”  
He bangs his free hand against his forehead, once.

“No,” Jemma says. “You didn’t mess it up. You had an accident. And yes, you changed. You’re different now. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t let it determine your future, Fitz. Look at you. You’re already recovering in a very quick pace. You’re strong.” She smiles at him. “What are you doing at university?”

Fitz looks at her. There’s something new in his eyes. Something like wonder and hope. “Engineering,” he tells her. Suddenly, his lips curl up into a dreamy smile. “I … I always, um, wanted to build a, a, a spaceship.” He looks at his hands. “And I’m … I’m good. I’m good at building things.”

“Then go back to it,” Jemma says. “Build things. Build that spaceship. Your life isn’t over. There’s a future and you can decide how it looks like.”

Fitz bites his lip. He looks at her, like he’s considering something. Finally he says carefully, “And … what if … if I would want you to be a, um, part of that future?”

Jemma’s heart seems to miss a beat. She blinks at Fitz, speechless for a moment.

He blushes. “Nevermind,” he says quickly. “I … I was just …”

“No,” she breathes. “No. I’m … I would tell you, that I want you to be a part of my future as well.”

“Oh.” He swallows. Then, a careful smile spreads on his face.  


*  


Life goes on.

They get to know each other in a slow, pleasant way. It feels just right.

They get together, and it’s good for both of them.

Jemma helps Fitz on his feet again, when he thinks he can’t do it anymore. When he’s convinced, he’s broken. When he sees no light in the future. She shows him otherwise. And he goes on.

Fitz helps Jemma feeling whole and loved. They cuddle on Jemma’s couch, watching movies together, stroking Trixie, who adores Fitz and often lays on his lap, purring. He shares his clothes with Jemma. She loves to sleep in one of his old shirts, inhaling his familiar scent. She never feels lonely again.

Together, they build the future they want.

Sometime, Fitz goes back to his studies. He passes the test this time, and they celebrate it with a bottle of red wine, a delicious dinner and fantastic first sex.

The future is a brighter place than any of them would have thought a few weeks ago.

They found love in an unlikely place.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native speaker and always grateful for being corrected! I'm constantly trying to improve my English, so please don't hesitate to tell me about mistakes. <3
> 
> Visit me on tumblr: [ready-to-kick-some-ass](https://ready-to-kick-some-ass.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
